GARDEN KNOWLEDGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 874, 18 January 1930, Page 28

GARDEN KNOWLEDGE

SUITABLE LAND In making a new garden, it is all important that the land should be well broken up and deeply worked or trenched, also that the drainage should be perfect: only by thorough preparation of the soil can the best results be expected. Rich, strong, virgin loam, or a rich sandy loam of good depth, is by far the best for vegetable production; but for summer crops rich, peaty, swampy black soil gives wonderful results. If the only land available is naturally poor, it can be gradually brought into condition by trenching or digging it over deeply, and frequently enriching it with plenty of manure and other vegetable matter, and adding to it any of the constituent parts of a productive soil it maj’ lack. Even sand will grow vegetables, but it should have plenty of manure, a good dressing of black soil if available, and rotted vegetable matter, if procurable, incorporated with it. Stiff soils should have sand and manure added to them, and as much light fibrous decayed vegetable matter as possible. Such land should be roughly broken up during summer and be allowed to lie without a crop for some months. The action of the atmosphere will greatly improve it.